Individual Bio for Annie Trépanier:
Violinist Annie Trépanier is a captivating performer and recording artist as well as a passionately dedicated teacher. The Boston Globe has hailed her playing as “supercharged, clear-headed, yet soulful” and her travels have included concerts in Brazil, Bolivia, Turkey, and throughout Europe. She has been heard regularly in national broadcasts on Radio-Canada, CBC and NPR and has recorded for Toccata Classics, Navona, Ablaze, Arkadash, Metier, CRI, New World, Ongaku, and Zephyr. She is Co-Executive Director of Cuatro Puntos, a Connecticut-based musical collective dedicated to bringing people together through musical partnerships around the world, including activities in New England, South America, Afghanistan, Turkey, and England.

Trépanier and her husband, violist Steve Larson, perform together regularly both as a duo and as part of Cuatro Puntos Ensemble. Previously they played together for twenty years as members of Avery Ensemble, producing a regular concert series as well as recordings which were celebrated by highly regarded publications such as The Strad: “The Avery Ensemble’s musicians’ great love for this music shines through in every bar, thanks to the eloquence of their tone and phrasing.”, and Fanfare Magazine: “Here are four musicians whose technical perfection and polish are equally matched by the sumptuous sound they produce and the depth of interpretive insight they exhibit.” 

Each summer Trépanier is invited to perform for two wonderful communities of music lovers – at Loon Lake Live in upstate New York, and at the Wintergreen Music Festival in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. She is a former member of the New World Trio and the Diabelli String Quartet and has appeared as a guest with such ensembles as the Copenhagen and Adaskin String Trios. She studied with Denise Lupien, Claude Richard, Philip Setzer, Pamela Frank, and renowned Suzuki teacher-trainers Teri Einfeldt and Linda Fiore, and holds degrees from McGill University, the University of Ottawa and The Hartt School. She was coached in chamber music by members of the Orion, Emerson, Cleveland and Orford String Quartets. Trépanier was a teaching artist for ten years at The Hotchkiss School and still lives and teaches in beautiful Northwest Connecticut. Visit www.violinviolaetc.com for more information.

Individual Bio for Steve Larson:
Steve Larson’s performances have been described as “electrifying” (Journal of the American Viola Society), while the Montreal Gazette has praised his “singing tone, eloquent phrasing, expressive dynamics and flawless intonation,” and the Boston Globe called his playing “supercharged, clear-headed, yet soulful.” He is a Senior Artist Teacher at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford, where he has taught since 1998 and has served both as Chair for Strings and Chair of Chamber Music.

Larson has performed extensively as the violist of the Adaskin String Trio since 1994, and with the oboe, viola & piano trio, Ensemble Schumann, since 2005. The Adaskin’s landmark recording of the complete String Trios of Beethoven for Musica Omnia was hailed by Gramophone as “riveting” and “intoxicating”, while their MSR Classics release of the two piano quartets by Gabriel Faure with pianist Sally Pinkas was enthusiastically welcomed as “splendid,” “worth celebrating” and “ferociously gorgeous.” Ensemble Schumann’s Romantic Trios recording (also on MSR Classics) was described by Fanfare Magazine as making “some of the most blissful sounds this side of nirvana. Truly, this is exquisite music, exquisitely played.” 

In addition, Larson and his wife, violinist Annie Trépanier, perform together as a duo, at the Wintergreen Festival & Academy in Virginia (where Larson serves as Principal Viola and Chair of Viola), and as members of Cuatro Puntos Ensemble, a group renowned for its dynamic performances & recordings as well as its dedication to using music as a stimulus for social change & cultural awareness. Cuatro Puntos’ activities have included partnerships with local arts and social organizations, concerts in South America, England, & Germany, and exciting collaborations with artists and organizations from the US, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq, the United Kingdom, India, & South Africa. Previously Larson & Trépanier also played together as members of Avery Ensemble for twenty years, presenting a regular concert series and releasing several critically acclaimed recordings.Larson has performed as a guest with groups such as the Emerson Quartet and the Lions Gate Trio, is a former member of the Alcan String Quartet and has performed with orchestras such as the Montreal Symphony and National Arts Center Orchestra. Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada), Larson holds degrees from McGill University, l’Université de Montréal and The Hartt School. At the 1997 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition in the United Kingdom he won second prize and received the special award for his performance of the commissioned work. He studied violin with Ernest Kassian, Elman Lowe, Howard Leyton-Brown, and Mauricio Fuks, viola with Jutta Puchhammer and Steve Tenenbom, and chamber music with members of the Emerson and Orford String Quartets. He plays an exceptional 17-3/8 inch viola made by Helmuth Keller in 1981. Visit www.violinviolaetc.com for more information.